Twenty-One
by LaLaChihuahua
Summary: (Sasuke OOC/POV) It was her twenty-first birthday, and I had a feeling everything was going to change.


I don't own anything Naruto related.

I hate parties.

No, hate isn't a strong enough word. I _**loathe **_them.

It's Sakura's 21st birthday. Yeah, the big two-one. Ino decided to throw the birthday girl a huge bash to celebrate. And boy, was she celebrating. A few shots, couple drinks. Sakura was the definition of wasted. It's somewhat humorous, to be honest. Lady Tsunade gave her the next couple days off from the hospital; I guess this is Sakura taking advantage of it. She deserved it, though. She spent the majority of her time there healing others and never took time for herself.

Everyone was having a blast with their drinking games in the living room while I stood in the corner by the front door. I made small talk with everyone, but as soon as the alcohol started pouring, that stopped real quick. So here I am.

It almost feels surreal being here right now. Sakura and I have known each other for years, ever since we were kids together. She always had this infatuation with me. She used to bring tomatoes to lunch with her every day, just to give them to me to "maybe get a smile from me". I tried to play it cool when she did; give her a little smirk, give her a mumbled thanks. And she swooned every time. It was cute at first, then annoying. We sort of grew apart because of it. I did everything I could to avoid her through middle school. But once high school came around, everything changed.

Sakura hit puberty.

And it was _nice_.

I started talking to her again, and so did every other guy on the planet. She was beautiful. Her pink hair flowed down her back, almost to her waist. She was curvy in all the right places. She had grown into her forehead a little better. And those eyes…my God, those eyes of her. The most mesmerizing shade of green. Emeralds couldn't even compare to Sakura's eyes.

We had a friendship like no other. She was, and still is, my best friend. Girls and guys were both so jealous through school. They thought we were a couple, but Sakura's crushing days were long gone. Her childish middle school "making me her husband" dreams were replaced with the thoughts of college to be a nurse. Instead of drawing hearts all over her binders with my name in the center, she drew anatomical diagrams and studied every chance she had. She was intelligent, and graduated top of our class. But I knew she would. She was perfect in every way.

Well, minus her temper some days.

Sakura went off to college the summer following graduation a few hours away. A private school that she had gotten a full ride to. No surprise there; she earned it. I video chatted with her almost every day and even wrote her letters. I didn't want to lose the friendship we had gotten back. Hell, I didn't want to lose her. I didn't want to lose her to someone else. Someone smarter than I, someone better looking, or maybe even some drunk frat boy on campus. I did everything I could to make sure she knew I was waiting for her with open arms when she returned.

Fuck, she wasn't even my girl. I wanted her to be though. Honestly, I didn't know if she felt the same about me anymore. I mean sure, in middle school she would've been my girlfriend in a heartbeat. But things change and people grow up. Her focus was her career. Did she even want a boyfriend at all?

Anyway, now we're here. Her 21st birthday. College was done, because of course she graduated early. I still have the same crazy feelings about her. And how she felt about me was still unreadable. But I had this feeling that tonight, something would change.

"Sassssssuke!"

I think I might be right.

Sakura came stumbling over to me, a bottle of flavored vodka in her hand. Strawberry flavored, how typical. She was wearing a black dress that went about mid-thigh, with a slit in the side that made my eyes travel where they shouldn't go, and my mind wander to a place it shouldn't have.

_**God.**_ _**Damn.**_

"Sasuke, why don't you take a couple shots with me?" Sakura slurred, her emerald eyes glassy with drunkenness. I smirked. "Sakura, it's getting late. And people are starting to crash on the floor."

She looked around. Ino and Shikamaru were passed out on the couch, with Naruto curled up sleeping in a ball at their feet. Hinata, the innocent one in the group, was asleep on the floor, with a wine cooler still in her hand. Lightweight. Numerous others were on the floor as well, and I'm sure a few others were upstairs. Her face sunk with sadness.

"Yeah, I guess the party's over…" She sat on the floor and pouted like a child. It was cute, and I couldn't help but smile. I'm glad I stayed sober; I figured I would be the only one awake to take her home. We wouldn't have gotten very far if I was trashed too. I knelt down next to her. "Ready for me to take you home, dear?"

"Think we should clean a little bit for Ino?"

"Nah, she'll live. I'll come help her tomorrow." She seemed satisfied with my answer and shakily tried to stand up. But being drunk and wearing heels never go well together, and she stumbled and fell into my arms. "Whoops!" Sakura giggled and grabbed my shoulders for support. She was pressed against my chest, and I blushed. I hope she didn't see.

"Alright, let's get going. Bye everyone!" Sakura waved goodbye to our drunk friends. Obviously, nobody waved back, as they were all sleeping. "Ahh, you crazy kids and your drinking…" I couldn't help but hold back a laugh. She was too funny, sometimes.

Sakura turned to leave and opened the front door. I kept my arm around her waist to keep her drunk ass from falling over. She didn't seem to mind. We started walking up the street to her house.

"Oh my god, my feet are killing me, Sasuke."

"Hn. Give me your heels."

"No, carry meeee." I stopped, which made her stop as well. "Sakura don't you think you're a little old to be—"

"Sasuke I'm drunkkk!" Sakura pouted. She lightly stomped her foot on the pavement, just like a child. I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair. This was not happening.

"Sakura I'm not carrying you. We're almost to your house anyway." She just stared at me. I stared back. If I seemed like I wouldn't cave, maybe she'd listen to me. Wait, oh Jesus.

Suddenly her eyes filled with tears. Her lip quivered. "Why don't you love me?!" She cried and screamed and crossed her arms over her chest. Fuck. I couldn't let her be this loud this late at night. I sighed. The things I do for this girl. "Fine."

I picked her up and held her bridal style. I hated and loved when she got her way. She always got really happy, but I never heard the end of it. Maybe in her drunken state she won't remember…

She snuggled into my chest and sighed in contentment. Her hand rested against my chest, and I could feel her breath against the collar of my shirt. I could get used to this feeling. I feel like her protector, like she needed me. And it was a damn good feeling. Carrying her to her house, she started to snore. At least there was peace and quiet now. I held her closer, knowing that after I put her to bed I'd have to leave her.

Augh, she was getting heavy.

Finally reaching her front door, I slowly knelt down to her doormat to grab the key under the mat. She didn't seem to notice, as she continued to snore against my neck. I unlocked the door and shut it behind me with my foot, which took a lot more effort than I thought it would. I shuffled Sakura's tiny frame to get a better hold of her, and carried her upstairs to her room. I've walked these halls so many times, I could probably find her room in my sleep. Finding her room in the dark wasn't too hard either. I turned the knob and nudged her bedroom door open with my hip. Gently placing her on the bed, I tucked her in and went to the bathroom to grab her a drink of water for when she woke up and placed it on her nightstand.

Sakura looked so peaceful as I sat down on the edge of her bed. She was curled up under the covers, with just the top of her head peaking out from underneath. The blanket rose and fell with her every breath, and she lightly snored into her fluffy pink pillow. Pink everything, always. I smiled and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and softly caressed her face with my thumb. She was so beautiful. As I stood up to leave, I felt a light grasp against my arm.

"Don't go…" I turned back to see her sleepy eyes staring up at my dark ones. I couldn't help but smile. "Alright, I'll sleep on the couch—"

"No, stay here with me." She pulled me back onto her bed and shifted over to give me room to lie down beside her. How could I not? Pulling the covers back, I laid next to her. Sakura put her head on my chest and draped her arm across my stomach. Awkwardly, I put my arms around her. I loved this. Everything just seemed right. I felt her smile against my chest, and she lifted her head up to look at me.

"Thank you for spending my birthday with me, Sasuke," she whispered, and she leaned up and kissed me. Woah. Woah, woah, woah. This is happening. She was kissing me. Was I dreaming? Wait, am I drunk too? This is just my imagination. No, it's not. I need to react! I kissed her back, unsure of if it was the right thing to do or not. I mean, she is drunk. Well, some of it could have passed by now. She's probably still tipsy, at least. The kiss was short, but sweet. I was on cloud nine. She tasted like strawberry vodka and cherry lip gloss.

"Sasuke, I know that you're probably thinking I'm just drunk and being silly…"

Bingo.

"…but I swear I know exactly what I'm doing." Wait, what? I laid there in silence. "Sasuke I've liked you for such a long time. I don't think my crush ever went away. But with school and work…I just kept thinking you deserved someone that could give you all the time in the world. I know I can't give you all the time you deserve, but do you think…"

Her words trailed off, like she didn't know what to say next. I was in awe. The girl of my dreams, the girl I've been chasing in secrecy for so long, was admitting she liked me. And has been for a long time! I pulled her closer to me. "Sakura, I've been waiting forever to say the same words to you."

She snuggled into my neck and gently kissed below my chin. I think that was enough of a response for her, because she fell asleep right then and there. I knew I had a good feeling about tonight. And within moments, I was asleep too.

I just wanted to do a quick one-shot. Let me know what you guys think :) I haven't written anything for a while.


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